Straight Talk 

Pradeep Ramteke

       Editor-in-Chief

            In Chimur, Juned Khan—a senior and experienced leader of the National Congress Party—was subjected to an attempted assault when the driver of a sand-laden truck attempted to run him down while overtaking. Juned Khan described this incident as both deeply shocking and utterly spine-chilling. 

           On the night of Friday, April 10, 2026, between 11:00 PM and 11:30 PM, a shocking incident occurred within the limits of Chimur city: the driver of a truck transporting sand along the Chimur-Warora National Highway attempted to kill Juned Khan by deliberately overtaking and swerving towards him. 

                                  Following this, Juned Khan and his associates gave chase to the said truck and successfully intercepted it near the iron bridge situated on the Chimur-Warora National Highway, approximately two kilometers from Chimur. (The iron bridge is located at a distance of 2 kilometers from Chimur.)

         Subsequently, within a matter of moments, a convoy of 40 vehicles engaged in the illicit transport of sand lined up one after another at the spot. This convoy included trucks, Hyva dumpers, and 12-wheeled heavy vehicles. Juned Khan promptly informed the concerned officials—namely Chimur Sub-Divisional Officer Kishore Ghadge, Chimur Tehsildar Shridhar Rajmane, and Chimur Police Station In-charge Dinesh Labde—via mobile phone regarding the forty vehicles involved in the illicit sand transport that were now halted on the Chimur-Warora National Highway. Upon receiving the information, all the concerned officials assured Juned Khan—a senior and experienced leader of the National Congress Party—that they would dispatch a flying squad along with a team comprising the Talathi and Mandal Officers.

              However, even after a considerable amount of time had elapsed, neither the flying squad nor the team of Talathi and Mandal Officers had arrived at the scene. Consequently, Juned Khan once again attempted to contact the officials—specifically Chimur Sub-Divisional Officer Kishore Ghadge, Chimur Tehsildar Shridhar Rajmane, and Chimur Police Station In-charge Dinesh Labde—via their mobile phones.

         To his dismay, Juned Khan realized that all the officials had switched off their mobile phones.

           Notably, this was not an isolated incident; similar instances have occurred in the past, wherein the mobile phones of local officials in Chimur would be immediately switched off the moment they received information via phone calls regarding illegal sand transportation, illegal sand mining, or illegal murum (gravel) mining.

               It has become evident that the officials in Chimur Taluka have adopted a new modus operandi: switching off their phones to tacitly allow the illegal mining of mineral resources—specifically sand and murum—and to permit their large-scale illicit transportation. Furthermore, they consistently turn a blind eye to illegal mining activities; and if journalists attempt to expose these illegal operations, the officials resort to filing false criminal cases against them. The initiation of such an illegal and unjust fund by the concerned officials of Chimur Taluka essentially amounts to facilitating corruption worth crores of rupees—driven by large-scale illegal sand and murrum (gravel) excavation and their clandestine transportation—and providing protection to the sand and murrum mafia.

            It appears that the concerned officials of Chimur Taluka—who have deliberately turned a blind eye to illegal sand and murrum excavation as well as their illicit transportation—have, to date, caused a revenue loss amounting to crores of rupees.

            Consequently, it has become imperative for the Government of Maharashtra to conduct an inquiry to identify all those involved in the corruption worth crores of rupees stemming from the theft of mineral resources within Chimur Taluka.

Junaid Khan’s Courage is Commendable…

          On the night of Friday, April 10, 2026—between 11:30 PM and 12:00 AM—he intercepted and halted 40 vehicles engaged in the illicit transportation of sand near the iron bridge on the Chimur-Warora National Highway. This act of courage on his part is truly praiseworthy. However, Junaid Khan noticed that the concerned officials in Chimur Taluka switched off their mobile phones the moment he informed them that he had intercepted 40 vehicles engaged in the illicit transportation of sand.

          Consequently—and left with no other option—Junaid Khan, a senior and seasoned leader of the National Congress Party, was compelled to allow the vehicles involved in the illicit sand transport to proceed.

         The revenue amounting to crores of rupees, lost due to such negligence, ought to be recovered from the movable and immovable assets of the concerned officials!

         Even after Junaid Khan—the senior and experienced National Congress Party leader—had informed Chimur Sub-Divisional Officer Kishore Ghadge, Chimur Tehsildar Shridhar Rajmane, and Chimur Police Station In-charge Dinesh Labde that he had intercepted 40 vehicles engaged in illicit sand transport, they did not take the trouble to visit the site with their official entourage. They blatantly and deliberately neglected their official duties.

         Upon realizing that the Chimur Sub-Divisional Officer, the Chimur Tehsildar, and the Chimur Police Station In-charge were dragging their feet—despite their earlier assurances—regarding the seizure of the trucks, Hyvas, and 12-wheeled vehicles involved in the illicit sand transport, Junaid Khan and his associates allowed the sand-laden vehicles to depart. This stands as a glaring and recent example of the negligence displayed by the concerned officials in Chimur.

        In essence, these 40 large vehicles—each carrying between 8 to 12 brass of sand—were allowed to engage in illicit transportation on April 11, 2026.

         Assuming that an average of 8 brass of sand was seized per vehicle, it must be presumed that the 40 vehicles collectively carried an average of 320 brass of sand.

          A fine of ₹1,20,000 is levied for every brass of sand. Consequently, the total fine amount for 320 brass of sand amounts to ₹3,26,40,000.

          Since Sub-Divisional Officer Kishore Ghadge, Chimur Tehsildar Shridhar Rajmane, and Chimur Police Station In-charge Dinesh Labde failed to take action to impound the 40 vehicles involved in the illicit transportation of sand—and further kept their mobile phones switched off—they have caused a loss of ₹3,26,40,000 in government revenue in a single night.

           Therefore, Junaid Khan—along with the citizens of Chimur Taluka—opines that the Government of Maharashtra should recover this revenue amount of ₹3,26,40,000 from the movable and immovable assets of these three officials.